


Bound

by Honorary_Melanie



Category: Mortal Instruments Series - Cassandra Clare
Genre: AU, Apocalypse, Dark, M/M, Post Epidemic, Smut
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-10-29
Updated: 2013-10-29
Packaged: 2017-12-30 20:04:44
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 14,138
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1022837
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Honorary_Melanie/pseuds/Honorary_Melanie
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A pandemic has swept the earth; a group of survivors are resting when they capture a suspicious food thief who has more than one secret up his sleeve. What will happen when Alec is the only thing standing between their prisoner and death?   AU/Smut/Malec/One Shot</p>
            </blockquote>





	Bound

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: Hey, this story contains a major character death. Also some questionable mental stability during the intimate scene could be grounds for a non-con argument, though the implications are mild. 
> 
> I obviously do not own the TMI series or these characters.
> 
> There are probably a few mistakes in here since I transferred it from my FF account, I'll be cleaning it up but pardon the mess for now. 
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

 

**Bound**

* * *

The sun hung lazily behind the grey clouds covering every inch of the endless sky, giving the ground a shadowed lightness. It brought images of old black and white films to mind, but stunted the imagination all the same, endless grey for tired eyes. Alec felt the weight of reality more heavily recently, when the weather chose to coincide with his dreary outlook it only amplified the unwelcome feeling in his stomach. The cold wind was complimenting their lack of conversation with its striking and audible thrashing. The survivors had been walking in silence since their arrival in this new city.

Dust covered every inch of the abandoned warehouse Jace was so eager to force upon their small group. He insisted it was secure with its heavy stone walls intact, and more importantly, it showed no signs of any human life. It was no different than any other place they had stayed in the past year; they only made camp in secluded, easily protected locations while traveling across the country in this fight for their lives. Alec didn't like it here though, it was damp, chilled and had a smell that set his body on edge. He personally could not wait until they would move on, something he could not place his finger on, was off.

He looked at his sister, whose expression was indifferent, as it often was these days. Neither Simon nor Clary spoke either, letting Jace take the lead in a brief investigation of the premises. Alec brought up the rear as always, keeping a watchful eye out for surprises. The group navigated this world's challenges seamlessly, but morale had been low and Alec was the worst offender. They were a well oiled fighting unit with grave communication problems and a narrow outlook. It was hard to find happiness in the apocalypse.

**Life Before**

* * *

It has been nearly two years since the initial outbreak, nearly two years since the lives they had all known were ripped from under their feet and all hell broke loose. Alec remembered that time, when his sister, brother and parents lived in a spacious suburban home. Being doctors, his parents had been  _exposed_  almost immediately, before the medical community even had a name for it, of course the sickness took a few months to show. He remembered the first time his father had coughed blood, and how they knew then what was happening. Both his mother and father left before the symptoms became unbearable, leaving the three siblings to fend for themselves. Alec was left in charge of keeping Isabelle and Max safe and healthy, for the former college freshman it was a lot of responsibility. He could only be so thankful for how close the three were already and how distant they had been from their parents. Anything as simple as a hug could have infected any one of them, for the first time in his life, Alec was thankful for his parent's lack of affection. It was finally for the best that their 'Barely there' parenting took place.

They had been chased from their home, looters making their way through. The infected spreading the sickness at an alarming rate, almost any contact with the infected would guarantee a gruesome, slow death. No one was to be trusted, nothing was clean and no where could be assumed safe. Within the first year of the pandemic, Alec figured around sixty percent of the global population had dropped dead. At least, that's what he gathered from what he had seen. There was no media source, little news; you only knew what you saw with your own eyes. Groups banned together, collecting fire arms and claiming land, Alec and his siblings were no different at first. They had managed to hot wire a car and began traveling out of the city, holding up in more rural areas, keeping a low profile. Food was scarce and clean, filtered drinking water nearly impossible to come by, still the three managed.

It was a mistake, one small falter in judgment. He and his sister left Max behind while they made a run into the city in search of food. The barn they had been living out of had seemed so safe back then, of course Alec knew better now. At nightfall, when they returned, they found Max, terrified and hiding behind an old bailer, blood smeared across his cheekbone. Max was only nine then, and only just ten before he passed. One of the infected had come, in seek of help, instead she found their youngest brother.

They say the pain is unbearable, that it drives those with the sickness to madness before it finally kills them. It didn't really matter why she had bothered to touch Max's face, what mattered was that she had.

Quarantine; It's all Alec could think to do. He couldn't very well leave his brother behind but he also could not risk exposing himself or his sister, they were all each other had. For Max it took almost the full two months for the symptoms to show. Alec had watched countless strangers fall to it, but Max was different, he was his brother. First he would cough blood, but he pretended he was not in pain. It wasn't until his skin began to peel that Max finally cried.

Alec wretched every time he remembered the hopeless look his brother had adopted in those last few days.

The pain did not last long; the pair agreed that it would be better to end his suffering. After much inner debate and tears, Alec had owned up to the responsibility. Max had died at his hand, down the barrel of a simple hand gun. Then it was only the two of them.

They survived that way for a while, just the two of them. Existence had settled into a pattern of sorts, the rules outlining chaos for those still alive. Sadly, this new world promoted the notion of kill or be killed, a concept Alec had never had the stomach for. He made it work though; he was strong, fast and handy with guns. Avoiding others was probably their biggest problem that first year. The infected crowded the streets of larger cities, making scavenging for food nearly impossible. Anything they did find was inspected, and then inspected once more. Other survivors were often hostile, in some of the worse times; inhumane. With no governing system and no hope in sight, people were turning dark.

It was after one particularly hair rising run in that the pair met Jace; their current leader. Alec and Isabelle came across a group of nearly thirty men, holding fort in a subway system. The pair had hoped the use the tunnels to avoid people in their traveling, they did not see the fires until it was too late.

The men tried to take Izzy, demanded that the girl be handed over in exchange for safe passage. Of course Alec wasn't going to agree to that, he couldn't take all thirty of them but he was prepared in that moment to go down trying. Isabelle, of course was also not about to go anywhere with them, the two exchanged looks, silent telepathy only close siblings share, both dived for the corners and their guns came out blazing. It was a losing battle; they were going to run out of ammunition before the end. The group of men had their own substantial artillery and numbers. Everything looked bleak, until the explosion.

Pieces of rubble flew every which direction, the blast enough to cause temporary deafness for Alec and he looked frantically for his sister across the way. She was there, looking back at him, terrified. A grenade, that was the only explanation, somewhere in the pit of the group's camp spot, a grenade had gone off; finishing the fight with an alarming bang.

Cautiously, they came from their hiding positions, looking for who may have thrown it. The others were for the most part dead, and those who were not, would be soon. Alec took a second to thank a god he did not believe in anymore that he and his sister had been out of the blast range.

A blond man was there, walking towards him, on his own and he was covered from head to toe in blood. At the time, it had scared them both. Blood was something you quickly came to fear in the new world. It was dirty and it was the fastest way to ensure your own death by contact if the one who bled was infected. Drenched, blond hair dyed red and his clothes soaked, as if it had rained the crimson liquid over him.

Alec never did ask how he became so completely covered. It wasn't common practice in this new life at ask what one had done, so much of the person you become in the breakdown is something most preferred not to reflect on. Jace was no different, he was clearly thriving on his own but his eyes held that glassy sheen of a man who had seen more than he was ever prepared for.

After little conversation Isabelle and Alec learned a bit about Jace. He was a nomad of sorts, a wanderer who had not bothered to form a group. It was rare to find people alone, not nearly as rare as his other quirk though. Immunity.

It was unheard of; no one was immune to the sickness, at least not to their knowledge. After Jace agreed to temporarily join their travels, he eventually explained how he knew he must be immune. Having been in direct contact with the contagion plenty of times and never displaying symptoms, it was unbelievable. Needless to say, after learning that bit of information, both he and his sister kept a little extra distance from the walking time bomb. Naturally the blond was less hygienic than the two of them; he had no reason to recoil at the smallest amount of blood or sweat.

At first, Alec had found the bronzed blond attractive; back in his old life he might have called it a crush. But realizations that he could never touch him safely helped him suppress that feeling. There would never be a time or place for him and Jace, and he had accepted that. Also, Jace had said his alliance was only temporary, he would eventually leave.

Jace never did leave them though; they had formed a unit of trust. A few months after the blond found them, they ran into a short red head named Clary, another immune and her friend Simon. Initially both struck Alec as useless, but after a while they grew on him - as much as one could grow on another when you're ready to leave someone for dead at the drop of a hat. Clary was alright with the weaponry they had collected, plus having another immune member gave them an advantage in scavenging. Simon was unnaturally upbeat most of the time, it seemed to have a calming effect on Isabelle, and he could only be thankful for that.

* * *

"Earth to Alec. Anyone in there?" Jace waved his hands around in front of his companion's face, a lopsided smirk gracing his features. The brunette hadn't realized he had zoned out staring at their fire. He looked up to meet the other's golden eyes.

Alec let out a sigh; Jace was the only one taking this world with any grace. He was probably the exact same before it all happened; happiness came so naturally to him. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just distracted."

Jace poked the fire with his stick, the two of them were alone at the moment, and the other three were sound asleep. They took shifts of guard duty in pairs; Jace was his partner recently. "You look like you could use ice-cream. But since I don't think that luxury exists anywhere anymore, would you like some rat?" Jace lifted his metal stick to show an impaled, dead rat, badly burnt, then waved it over towards Alec's face.

Alec recoiled slightly and Jace let out a muted laugh. "Looks delicious right? I was saving this baby for myself, but I think I could let her go for you."

"You're sick, you know that right?"

"On the contrary, you and I know very well how untrue that to be." Jace pushed the rat off of his stick by the heel of his boot. It must have gotten caught in the fire, Alec would have felt bad for, but sympathy was hard earned now.

"Very funny." Alec muttered.

The golden boy lifted the stick, which was now clean, and poked Alec's foot with it. "Really though, you've been extra depressing lately."

"You're the only one who hasn't been." Alec knew he was the worst for it though, dragging down the entire group's mood.

"I can't afford to be; Leader, remember?" He gestured to himself. Jace did tend to over assert his power. It was all with good intention though; he was by far the most cut throat in their group and that was a necessity.

Alec kicked away the fire poker and forced a smile. "Just feels hopeless, nothing new."

"You just need to embrace the world the way it is now, hope for the best and all that other mushy sentimental crap. The world's a bitch, it's probably best to just – "

He was cut off by the echo of something falling, back into the dark distance of their current camp. The warehouse had been empty when they inspected it only hours before and they were held up close to the entrance, their supplies hidden a ways further in. Jace lifted a finger to his lips, signaling Alec to remain quiet, and then signaled him to follow. He grabbed the only flashlight they had that still worked out of the knapsack next to him and tossed it to Alec.

Following Jace was sometimes challenging, the blond was fast, and could climb things with ease. Over their time together Alec had gotten better at keeping up, but he still broke a sweat.

_Tap tap tap_

Footsteps, someone was in here with them. Jace took off in a sprint towards the noise, Alec was about to shout at the blond to stop but realized it would only draw more attention to them, who knew what was lurking in the shadows of this old building. He chased after Jace initially but skidded to a halt after realizing he had lost the other man. He hid away the flashlight in his pocket, not wanting to bring extra attention to himself either.

Finally a cry of pain was heard into the distance and Alec used that as his guide, praying that the noise had not escaped from his companion's lips.

They were by their supplies stash, or rather, a few rows of old wooden crates over. The place was filled with the old rickety things and all they contained were spare parts for electronics. Alec supposed it would have been too much to hope for a warehouse full of timeless canned goods or Twinkies.

"Jace?" He whispered harshly into the dimly lit area, he could see two figures, one clearly pinning the other to the ground.

A laugh, thank goodness, Jace was alright. "About time you caught up. Help me, he's strong." The figure beneath the blond thrashed a bit, setting him off balance, but Jace recovered quickly. "Feisty, I like it!"

Moving to assist Jace, Alec could barely see the intruder but he held the shadow figures arms together so Jace could quickly tie him. Even with the protective gloves, Alec still felt reluctance in his gut over touching a stranger, so he tried to keep the whole length of his arms between them.

"What was he doing?"

"It looks like he was going to run off with our food." Jace nodded towards the two familiarly shaped duffle bags they used to carry spare food and gear that wouldn't fit in their regular packs. The blond finished tying his intricate boy scout worthy knots, effectively binding the stranger's wrists and ankles. Backing away to admire his own handy work Jace sighed appreciatively, though how he could see in this dim lighting was beyond Alec.

"So what are we going to do with him?" He hated asking that question, it was rare that they had to capture someone or do anything like this, but Jace had proven to be the sort of leader capable of killing off loose ends.

"Hard to say, he was trying to steal our supplies. Which he obviously wasn't able to do, but he might have a group nearby he could go alert." The stranger had struggled into a sitting position and was trying to push kick himself backwards with little luck. "He's got some fighting spirit though, not sure if he might be useful to us yet." Jace kicked the man, not gently at all. "Anything to say for yourself?"

Silence, but the stranger had groaned audibly when Jace kicked him, and he was obviously aware of the situation.

"No? No input of your little predicament?" Jace lifted his hand to Alec but continued looking towards the figure on the floor. "Where's that flashlight?"

Alec almost forgot he had had the damn thing. He dug it from his pocket and handed it over to the blond, who quickly switched it on and held it to his own face in a joking, menacing manner, making a scary face.

"What are you doing exactly?"

"Instilling terror in our guest." Jace then pointed the bright light towards Alec momentarily before moving it to the stranger.

Alec was in the middle of stifling a snort of laughter at Jace's demeanor when he first laid eyes on the man they had captured, who was now properly lit. His jaw nearly hit the ground as he looked him over. Suddenly he was thankful for the darkness; no one would see the blush he was undoubtedly sporting.

He had dark, shoulder length hair which was pulled into a small tie, flawless tan skin and captivating, green and gold olive shaped eyes which gave off an illuminated look when met with the flashlight. The stranger was dressed in tight black jeans which were tucked neatly into lace up leather boots, an open leather jacket and black muscle tank beneath, which displayed the shape of his chest nicely.

"Well are you going to talk or not?" Jace kicked a piece of rubble at the man, who moved his hand to brush it away, still not saying anything.

Alec struggled to pry his eyes off the stranger and looked to Jace instead. "Maybe he doesn't understand English."

"Oh, he understands fine." Jace closed in on the man, fisting the jacket's collar and looking him in the eye. "If you're not going to talk, you're not worth keeping alive." The man spat at Jace, who in return backhanded him. "It's like you have a death wish."

Panic set into Alec, his body breaking out in a slight cold sweat. Something about killing this man felt wrong, looking at him now, so full of life, it would be so wrong to take that fire from behind his eyes. Jace would do it though, he knew, the blond had no real reservations and to make things worse he had just been spat at.

"If he is keeping quiet intentionally, there is probably a reason; one I'm sure would be worth finding out." Alec offered. It made sense, in a way. For whatever reason the tanned man was not talking and if they could get him to cave, it might be of interest. Information had a valuable place in local conduct. "It might be worth keeping him alive until we figure out what's got his tongue."

"If we keep him alive we're going to have to babysit, Alec. I don't want to waste time watching over a thief." Jace took a few steps away from the man and lifted his flashlight, pointing it now at Alec. "I know you're not fond of the whole killing thing. But desperate times y'know."

The light burnt Alec's eyes and he raised a hand to shield them, noticing the stranger was now staring at him for the first time. "Give me two days, maybe we can use him."

"I don't know. . ."

"You won't have to do the ' _babysitting_ '." Alec made air quotations around the last word. "If it's useless then we've lost nothing and I've found a way to kill two days. If not, we'll have new information or maybe something else."

"Alright, but this is your responsibility." Alec hated it when Jace acted like a parent, especially since he was actually younger than him. "You could probably get some of the others to help share the load, but leave me out of it. Two days, that's all, and then I slit his throat." Shivering, Alec nodded and Jace hauled the stranger up and over his shoulder. "So where are we going to put him?"

"There was an office near the garage doors; I'm betting there aren't any windows."

"Lead the way." With that Jace handed Alec back the light, a struggling figure fighting over his shoulder.

Isabelle had found the office earlier in their searching of the premise. It was just a small closed off space with boxes shoved up against the far wall and a couple of toppled over chairs covered with dust. Alec suspected this place had its own power generator, it seemed likely, so when they reached the room and he flicked on the light he was not surprised to hear the low humming of florescent lighting. For the most part, only large industrial building like this one had power anymore but it was useless, it only brought unwanted attention. This one room though, no one could see from outside and he couldn't very well watch this stranger in the dark. Alec made a mental note to check all the drawers for spare batteries to use in their other flashlights.

Tossing the handsome stranger down on top of some old, damp boxes in the far corner, Jace turned back to Alec. "I'm going to go tell people about our guest. Stay here." With that Jace left, closing the door loudly behind him, leaving Alec alone with the leather clad man.

Alec tried not to stare; he looked everywhere but directly at the man as he straightened one of the fallen chairs and sat on it. Those interesting eyes were fixed though, watching Alec, taking in his every move and it was almost as if he could physically feel the other's stare.

"You know, if you would just talk, we might be able to let you go."

The stranger just shook his head slightly and positioned himself into a slight sitting position, leaning heavily against the wall behind him. His eyes coy, almost holding a sense of amusement or humor while looking his pale captor over.

"Can you talk?"

He didn't respond, his eyes met Alec's and held the contact for a moment before he let out an audible sigh and straightened to stare at the ceiling instead. Not a moment later, Jace was coming back into the room followed by the other three travelers. Clary and Simon looked tired but Isabelle looked furious, her eyes fixed on their newest addition.

"What is this?" She bit angrily, her attention now on Alec. "For all we know he could be contaminated! He comes here and tries to steal our food and you won't let Jace kill him?" She yelled at her brother.

"That's not exactly –

Isabelle cut him off; "I don't care about the technicalities! He's dangerous Alec!" She stared between the two, eyes wide. The stranger let out a noise which sounded suspiciously like a laugh and lulled his head to look away from the group and rest further against the wall.

Alec moved towards his sister. "You know how I feel about killing Iz. . ." Alec whispered. "Besides, I didn't say Jace couldn't kill him, I just asked for two days to find a reason not to."

"Two days you could become infected during." She muttered then turned her attention back to the man in the corner. "You, are you infected?" She asked forcefully but did not advance at all.

The man looked back at the group and raised an eyebrow. By now Alec knew the stranger understood and could probably talk, if not communicate in some other sense. It confused him to no end why he wouldn't just comply. Isabelle probably wanted to go assault him and ask again, but her fear of infection would stop her. The only people who could safely touch unknown people here were Jace and Clary. Jace apparently had, had his fill and was in the process of slowly sneaking back out the door and Clary looked too tired to even comment.

"Izzy, what if he's clean and not so bad and this is all just a stupid misunderstanding?" Finally Simon spoke up; he yawned slightly but moved forward. "I'm not volunteering for a hug or anything but it might be worth figuring out."

"Nu uh, I'm with Jace on this. Two days Alec, and don't you dare let him touch you." Isabelle stormed out of the room, Simon chasing behind her. Jace had already snuck away from the commotion and Clary gave Alec a thoughtful look before following the others, closing the door softly behind her.

It was just the two of them again, Alec moved back to the chair, sitting forward he rested his arms over his knees and watched the man. "You're giving me trouble." He sighed, knowing he was more talking to himself.

The stranger just smiled.

"Please, just say something?" Alec asked in defeat. He was not expecting a response.

"There's that magic word I was waiting for."

You have  _got_  to be kidding me. "Are you serious right now? They almost killed you and you were waiting for a polite invitation to talk!?" Alec stood, wondering if the others could hear him.

The other man just shrugged his indifference somehow even more infuriating. Alec slouched further, letting his head hang low in his hands as he let out a weak laugh. The stranger re positioned him self once more so that he was now facing Alec, his long legs hanging awkwardly over the boxes and still bound together. When Alec finally looked up again, those green eyes were watching him intently and even though the other was tied up and helpless, it still make Alec's skin crawl.

"So what's your name then?" Alec tested his luck, his voice slightly uneven.

"Does it matter?"

Alec rolled his eyes. "I guess not . . ." He thought to try convincing him but realized it would probably be a wasted effort. Sitting back down he scooted the chair a bit closer, hoping the stranger would talk again. His voice had an accent Alec couldn't quite place, but it was interesting to him.

"Magnus" The stranger surprised him, laughing at the shocked look Alec responded with. "My name is Magnus, how about you blue eyes?"

Burying his face in his hands again, Alec tried his best to hide the blush that was spreading from his cheeks. "Alec."

Magnus nodded, leaning forward and removing himself from the wall. "So the screamer, can I assume that was your sister, you look alike."

"Yeah, that's Izzy."

"She's quite the spit fire, beautiful too." Magnus stated aloud and Alec could no longer hide his blush. When Magnus saw the look of embarrassment mixed with anger on the other's features he followed up; "But then, it's the entire gene pool I suppose." He looked Alec over suggestively, laughing when the boy shied away. "Why so serious darling? I'm the one tied up here, no need to look so wounded."

"Is this just a joke to you?" Alec asked honestly, Magnus had only been with them for roughly and hour, yet somehow in that time he had almost been killed, threatened, beaten and tied. How was it that he found the time to make fun of Alec when what he should be doing was begging for his life or bargaining off information? It just didn't make sense. "You realize if you don't give us a good reason not to kill you, in two days Jace will do it. I'm really sticking my neck out for you here."

"Ah, yes. Why is that anyways, what do you care if I live or die?"

"I – I. . ."

The door swung open again and Clary walked back in, still looking half asleep. "It's my and Isabelle's shift. Jace seems to think you should get some sleep Alec." She walked over and patted the boy on his shoulder. "I can watch our guest."

"Oh, umm, alright." Was the lame response, Alec came out with. He was tired; he hadn't slept in nearly twenty four hours. "He's started talking by the way, not that he says anything useful." He heard Magnus snort indignantly. "His name is Magnus, that's pretty much all I got. I'll see you in a few hours." He spoke to Clary and moved from the chair so she could take his place as he left the small office and closed the door slowly behind him.

Magnus had asked a good question, 'why did he care'? Sure he hated all of the killing but that was just everyday life now, what made this stranger seem more important than so many of the other lives before him. He had never protested Jace's decisions to kill before, not seriously anyways. What made Magnus different from the others? He was attractive, devilish, and interesting but none of those things explained his inability to just let it go. It was so rare for Alec to go against the group, in fact he could only think of one other instance where it had happened in the past year, and that had involved an elderly woman and a matter of humanity.

Curiosity perhaps, the man's eyes held a story. But now that he had begun speaking, Alec had a feeling he wasn't one to divulge in the stories of his past. Whatever it was, hopefully he would figure it out within the next couple of days.

Alec rolled out one of the blankets, about an equal distance between Jace and the fire where Izzy now sat. The second his head hit the ground he was out like a light.

**The Dream**

* * *

**  
**  


"Iz, I don't know, I just. . . I don't know anymore." Alec let his tears fall freely, crumpling in front of his younger sister, their ill brother in the next room.

Isabelle held his shoulder but tears of her own were beginning to tumble down her cheeks. "We can't just leave him like that Alec, he's in pain. He's so small and we can't help him. . . we can't just leave it."

Max could be heard sobbing through the thin walls, they had kept him in a room lined with plastic and scrubbed to the best of their ability. When either older sibling went in to see or play with the boy they had to dress in makeshift body suites fashioned out of stray garbage bags.

Alec's shoulders shook violently. "I know that. . ." He whispered, helpless. "I failed him, I failed you both." A slight scream of pain suddenly chilling the room; Max must have tried to move. "His skin is peeling Iz, he's dying and it's entirely my fault." His eyes clouding, misery visible in ever fraction of his being and he couldn't take his eyes away from his sister who was trying desperately to control her own tears.

"We failed, Alec. It's my fault as well. He needs us now, he – he needs us to be s – strong." She choked on her sobs, trying to calm. "You know what we have to do." She leaned against her brother, compelling him to understand, to indicate that he was thinking the same.

It was a full minute before Alec replied; "I know." It was quiet, but he had said it. Isabelle's shoulders fell a bit, it was real now. This was real and there was no going back. Alec knew he was a mess, but this was his responsibility.

"We should do this together." Izzy leaned back, taking her brother's hand and wiping away her fallen tears with the sleeve of her shirt.

Alec didn't want that, Isabelle didn't need to see that, he didn't want her to have to, not because he was too weak to do it himself. "No." He said firmly, forcing himself to stand tall and control his shaking. Inside he was dying, but he needed to be composed now, he needed strength enough for all three of them. "Mum and Dad would never have wanted you to see that Iz, I'll be okay, this is my responsibility." He clenched his teeth to keep his mouth from twitching with the lie.

"A – Alec. . ." Isabelle started but she couldn't finish before he brother was enveloping her in a strong hug. Her body shaking against his as she finally broke down, letting him hold her as she cried.

Alec gave his sister a final squeeze before pulling away. "Cover your ears." He touched her head lovingly, she was stronger than he was, but right now this was his time to be the mature one. She nodded, eyes falling as she moved to sit on the floor and placed her head between her knees, folding her arms over her head; simultaneously blocking out the world and keeping herself from being sick as Alec quietly left the room.

The house was so dark, there was no light this far out in the country, only that of the moon that crept through the windows, casting streaks of brightness across the wooden floor. Alec pulled on parts of the garbage suit, making sure his body was fully covered and tying a cloth mask over his mouth and nose. He pushed open the door to Max's 'room' slowly and cursed when the hinges squeaked obnoxiously.

Max looked up mid-sob and forced a smile that broke Alec's heart. "Hey." Was all the younger lightwood said, trying to sound normal but the pain was written all over his body.

Alec had to concentrate to not throw up; Max's small body was covered in welts of melted looking skin, bleeding and peeling. This was the second phase of the sickness, after this came madness and then death. His younger brother was so brave, how he was still able to force a smile was beyond him. "Hey, how are you feeling?"

As if to answer, Max let out an alarming cough, when he pulled his hand back it was splattered with blood. "It hurts so bad." Looking over his older brother Max's expression changed to fear and tears began falling again. "I'm scared Alec."

Alec's fear of infection vanished in the moment and he closed the distance between himself and the young boy. Not wanting to hurt him more than he already hurt, Alec lightly wrapped his arms around his brother, but Max immediately clung to Alec desperately, ignoring any pain he must have been in.

"I – I'm going to make the pain go away." Alec whispered in his brother's ear.

Max had always been smart for his age, he knew from that what his older brother meant and he only nodded into his shoulder. "What's it like to die?" He asked with a childish innocence.

Alec forced himself to stop crying once more and pulled back to look his younger brother in the eyes. "I don't know Max, no one does. But it will be a whole new adventure where there is no pain." He cupped his brother's cheek and tried to smile in a re-assuring manner but failed horribly.

"I'm scared to die." He looked scared too, but with every move he winced in pain and Alec knew it needed to be done. The last few days had been agonizing, Max couldn't move, couldn't do anything without crying out in pain. Alec needed to remind himself why he was doing this, because he loved his brother and couldn't watch the madness set in.

"Don't be scared, it will be alright. I love you Max, and Isabelle loves you too, very much." Breathing normally was becoming a challenge. "You need to trust me okay? Can you do that?"

Max nodded, and stepped back. "I love you too." He answered.

"We will always love you alright, you will always be our baby brother, never forget that." He helped Max back into the sitting position on the ground and began to shake. He needed to do it now, or it wouldn't get done at all. "Close your eyes."

Max did as he was told and sat back, jumping a little when he heard the familiar click of a bullet being locked in place. Alec ran his fingers through his brother's hair and kissed his forehead through the mask, taking a grand risk with his own health but not caring in the slightest. When he finally sat back, he lifted the gun and took one well aimed shot.

_Bang_

* * *

Alec awoke in a cold sweat, tears staining the blanket where his head had been. That was the first time that nightmare had come to him in a while, initially it haunted him every night but not recently. What happened with Max had changed him, made his a different person, he lost his life back there with him. Recently though he had found himself forgetting little by little, which was almost worse, but then here it was, the return of the nightmare.

He noticed Jace was still sleeping a ways away from him and suddenly wondered how long he had slept, it couldn't have been nearly long enough but he doubted he would be able to sleep again anytime soon. Rolling onto his side he noticed his sister sitting up near the fire, dozing slightly. It warmed his heart for a moment, at least she slept peacefully now, but Alec would never fully get those images from his mind. Standing up, he folded the blanket he was using as put it back with the rest, wiping residual tears with the collar of his oversized, blue sweater. He could go take over for Clary, and then she could come watch Iz for him.

He opened the door to see Clary leaning back in the chair, boots kicked up over some boxes she had piled in front of herself as she leaned back uncaring. It took her a moment to notice Alec had entered the room.

"Oh!" She said a bit too loudly in surprise. "You scared me. Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?" She let the chair fall back onto all fours and walked over to the boy. Magnus watched the two silently.

"I  _was_  sleeping, it didn't really last long." He scratched the back of his head awkwardly, not really wanting to explain to her. She examined him over and seemed to understand without needing to say it. "Figured I could take over again, I think Isabelle's fallen asleep anyways, you should go keep watch for her or wake her up if you want to be mean."

"Sure, sure . . ." She muttered, walking past him. "Oh, and he hasn't spoken a word to me. I was starting to die from boredom." She glared at Magnus who actually, dramatically glared back. "Anyways, I'll go wake up Izzy. Can't believe I was sitting here bored to tears while she slept. So not fair." And with that, the short red head left the room.

"So you're not tal –

Alec was cut off by the one question he didn't want to be asked. "Why were you crying?" Magnus asked honestly, his voice held a hint of concern which for some reason did not seem out of place at all. Alec met his eyes briefly before sitting but looked away quickly after.

"I wasn't crying."

"Yes you were. Your eyes are all puffy and your cheeks are stained with tears." Magnus observed and leaned forward, offsetting his balance for a moment but he recovered, still watching the other, scrutinizing. "No use lying sweetie."

"Does it matter?" Alec raised an eyebrow, repeating the same words Magnus himself had said earlier when asked his name.

Magnus sighed; "I just don't like to see those beautiful eyes in distress." He shrugged. "Excuse me for caring."

Alec looked up, too exhausted even to blush. Magnus was trying to be personable and interested; it was quite the stretch from how he had been acting before. It didn't make sense, but then nothing really did anymore. The tanned man was watching him, expression now unreadable as he rode out the quiet moment. Eventually Alec felt compelled to ask.

"I didn't mean to offend you, it's just that you, well . . . I can't figure you out. Why would you care?" Perhaps he was just becoming bored and felt like prying into Alec's life for entertainment; even so, Alec wanted to know.

Magnus shook his head. "You answer first."

"What?"

"Why were you crying?" he asked for the second time, eyes softening. Alec didn't really want to revisit the imagery more than he already had but it was too late for that now. Honestly he couldn't quite shake it off anyways, Max was on his mind and maybe sharing would help. He doubted it, it would probably only make him cry again, but it was worth a shot.

Alec let out a sigh and Magnus leaned forward a little more, trying to balance on his bound legs properly. "I had a nightmare." Alec started; Magnus looked unimpressed with the reveal so he elaborated. "Or rather, I have a nightmare, reoccurring."

Magnus made the mistake of trying to lean too far forwards and fell from where he was perched. He recovered awkwardly and cursed under his breath, looking back up to Alec. "What happens in the nightmare?"

"It's about my younger brother . . ." Alec stood and began walking over to where Magnus was sitting. Magnus pulled backwards forcefully when Alec was about a foot away, a reaction that Alec had not expected.

"What are you doing?" Magnus asked, trying to inch away still as Alec took a knee before him.

The pale boy looking up in confusion; "I was just going to cut your ankle bindings, you keep falling. I'm not infected you know. I should be more afraid of you then you of me."

"Won't the blond be mad if he finds out you've cut my legs free?"

Alec let out a breath and reached for Magnus's legs. "Jace doesn't really do angry. Just sarcastic asshole, besides, it's not like you can escape without use of your hands." Alec looked up from his ankles to meet those green gold eyes. "I don't think you'll try to run."

Magnus strained awkwardly in a way that minimized the contact between Alec and the fabric of his pants. It wasn't uncommon to limit contact like that but Alec felt Magnus might have been taking it a bit far. "So what happened to your brother?" He asked, changing the focus, but as soon as Alec finished cutting the rope Magnus pulled his legs away and swung them back over the boxes, away from the other.

"What's all that about? Are you infected?"

It was a few moment before Magnus replied with a simple "No." It was quiet but he had said it. What reason he would have for being reluctant to say he was not infected Alec couldn't phantom. "So what happened to your brother?" He asked again, now sitting cross legged and looking interested.

"He died." Alec's thoughts accidentally drifted back to the sight of his brother, eyes closed, down the barrel of his gun. "Rather, I should say I killed him." He choked on a sob that tried to force its way from his throat. Just saying out aloud brought on such a powerful wave of emotions.

Magnus's eyes looked sympathetic. "I'm sorry." He thought for a moment. "Some crazy things have happened since the outbreak. I'm sure you had no other choice."

Alec let his head nod slightly. "He got infected. But he got infected because of my carelessness in the first place." When Alec looked up he saw Magnus visibly shiver and wondered suddenly if maybe the stranger had his own experience with that matter. "Have you lost someone?" Alec whispered.

"No, I came into this mess alone." He looked away, eyes tearing but looking angry and Alec decided it would be best not to question any further about his family.

"So you don't have a group out there then?"

"No, never found one I thought I could stay with. Not for any length of time anyways - always done better on my own." Magnus smiled to himself; "You know I haven't talked to anyone like this in a long time."

"So why are you talking to me then?" Alec asked, genuinely interested. He wondered if he was as intriguing to Magnus as Magnus was to him.

"Something about you just makes me wish I was a better person, more normal." In an almost animated fashion Alec's head tilted and Magnus let out a chuckle. "I can't really explain it."

The man before Alec confused him. Magnus seemed to have the emotional attention span of a five year old but at the same time made everything feel so complex. Alec's feelings were uplifted with the man's laugh but thrown about in a whirlwind of pain at his prodding. Alec often felt hopeless, especially when Max came to mind. Back then, had it not been for Isabelle, Alec knew would have taken his own life. That was no longer a worry to him; she had other people to rely on now. With Magnus asking about his nightmare though he didn't have quite the same feeling of impending destruction. It felt as though he had taken a football to the stomach, sure, reflections and regret will do that to a person. But something about the mysterious stranger across from him made him forget that constant little voice in the back of his head that insisted he join his brother.

"I don't think I've ever had that effect before." Alec mused. "Actually I'm fairly sure that people sometimes purposely avoid me because I drag the mood down."

"I can't believe that. You're so innocent, that was a rarity before this mess, never mind now."

"You only say that because you don't really know me, and I'm the only thing keeping you alive at the moment."

"Maybe . . ." Magnus said more to himself than Alec, trailing off a bit. "I haven't cared for a long time whether I live or die or what other's thought. I'm not about to seek out lady death herself or anything but things just seem so trivial. You make me care though, and I'm not sure why."

Alec was surprised at the honesty. "Maybe it's because I am the same." He sighed. "I've thought about it; dying." He leaned back in the chair, looking at the wall and trying not to notice the sad look Magnus was giving him.

Magnus kicked one of the box piles from where he sat. "I think we all have at one time or other –

"No." Alec interrupted quietly. "Ever since Max passed it's been a constant presence." Though in recent months it had been getting better, it was something he imagined he would always carry with him now. Some feelings you don't just forget. "If I hadn't needed to care for my sister after that, I'd be gone by now. I know it." No shadow of doubt was detectable in his tone.

Magnus squeezed his eyes shut and pursed his lips a bit; "Don't talk like that."

"Why do you care? We've only just met and I'm only being honest." Alec shrugged and for some reason that made Magnus looked mad. He supposed he could relate though. Not long ago Magnus had made the same gesture when asked about regards for his own life and that had made Alec angry as well. "You asked me about my nightmare and this is where we've gotten. I'm not ashamed of my thoughts but I'd just as soon not talk about them."

Magnus shook the stray hair from his face and unfolded his legs. "It's just distressing to meet someone who naturally runs so contrary to this whole thing. It's a beautiful thing, like finding a flower growing from cement, cliché as that may sound. There's something innately good about you and knowing that you'd welcome death is very confusing to me."

"What do you mean confusing?" Alec had begun blushing right around the time Magnus compared him to a flower but was doing his best to ignore the part of him that wondered if Magnus had been flirting, as impossible as that felt.

"Are you confused about my confusion?" Magnus smiled.

"Nevermind." The word 'confusion' tossed around too many times.

Magnus laughed to himself. "Was just enjoying the un tainted version of you in my head."

"Sorry for bursting you bubble." Alec bit; "We can't all thrive on chaos." He was in the middle of many varied thoughts about how inappropriate what Magnus was saying to him was when he realized: "Wait, you were thinking about me?"

"How could I not?" The corner of Magnus's mouth came up a bit in a side smile. "You're exactly my type, and to sweeten the deal you're also my knight in oversized clothing." Magnus relished in the wide eyed look Alec was giving him. "It's like you don't belong here, in this time. It's intriguing, you make me think. It's dangerous."

Alec had either missed the end of what Magnus had said or chose to ignore it, "I'm your type?"

"Dark hair and blue eyes has always been my thing." Magnus sounded like he might be joking but his body language read serious.

"Male?"

"I do not understand where you're lost, unless you've got a surprise down there, which I would probably still be game for, not that it matters in the slightest because it's never going to happen."

Alec was confronted with a crossroads; here was this gorgeous man in front of him, telling him he was gay and for some reason Alec would never understand, he was actually interested in him. Opportunities like these were so few and far between now; it would be a shame not to make any move. Intimacy and romance were hard to come by. At the same time though, Magnus was an unknown. It was a risk no matter how he looked at it. The taller man had said he was not infected, and he showed no sign of sickness, but that could be explained in a few different ways. Alec had a hard time weighing the value of his own mortality though, since it had meant so little to him in the past year. So the logic behind that side vanished more quickly than it could come to him. The little things you take pleasure in, those are the things that keep you moving.

"Why can't it happen?" Alec asked, his voice so small it was barely a whisper. Cheeks burning a bright red and he did not look at Magnus as he spoke.

Magnus pulled up his legs, curling into a slight ball. "It just can't." Magnus bit his own lip. "I shouldn't have said anything; it was a bad flirtatious impulse left from simpler times."

Alec considered dropping it, letting the conversation move on, but now he was stuck fixating on the planes of muscle definition visible through Magnus's tight shirt. A place he should have stopped his eyes from wandering. "I don't want to drop it."

"Look, I'm telling you it isn't going to happen."

"But –

Simon burst through the door, cutting Alec off before he had the chance to start. Looking frantic, something was clearly going on. "Alec we need you."

"What's happening?" Alec stood, reaching for his gun instinctively. "Is everyone alright?" A too familiar sense of panic setting in.

Simon looked to Magnus for a moment then back towards Alec. "No one's hurt yet but you need to come now. We'll just have to leave him here." He nodded at Magnus, indicating that he would be left unsupervised. Alec realized with his legs unbound, he would likely make a run for it at the open opportunity. Magnus seemed in tune with Alec's train of thought and he lowered his head, averting his gaze.

"Yeah that's fine. Now tell me what's happening." The pair rushed out the door and Simon began leading them towards the entrance.

"There's just a group out there, they want in, they have a sob story but it smells fishy. There are eight, from what I saw. Six men and two women and they're all stacked; I'm talking big and muscular." Simon picked up the pace of their quick walk. "Jace is talking with their leader but it looked like it might break out in a fight at any moment." Simon hated confrontation nearly as much as Alec and he was much less useful in a fight. Normally he would just hang back and try not to die; if he was actually ready to participate it must look serious.

"What's the story?"

"Something about their hide out being over run and having lost a few members. They claim they want to join us, but I think they're just really after our space and supplies. We must look like an easy target; none of us look very imposing."

Ironically, of the group, though Alec hated conflict the most; he looked the most ready for it. He was the tallest and most built, but even that had a lean quality to it. Jace and Isabelle were equally as deadly but from a stranger's point of view, they looked like easy game.

"Do they have guns?" Alec asked, securing his own firearm under the loop of his belt.

Simon thought for a moment, they were almost there. "I didn't see any, but that doesn't mean they don't have. I think the problem will be staying away from them."

Alec didn't need to ask what he meant as they approached the scene ahead. Simon had not been exaggerating, it was as if to join their group you needed to be a minimum of six feet tall and be able to lift two hundred pounds. Even the women were ripped, it was quite the site. Most of their members stood back a ways but right there in the garage entry way stood Jace, in front of him were two giant men. They were seemingly negotiating. Silently, Simon and Alec joined the rest of their party which were keeping their distance a ways into the entrance, shielded by some cargo.

One of the large men, clad in obnoxious red flannel, was now waving his arms about in a threatening manner. Though the group could not hear what he was saying it was not hard to tell that things were not going well. The second large man held his companion back a little from lunging. Things were heating fast, Alec heard Izzy ready her weapon next to him.

Jace shook his head, backing away a couple of steps and raising his hands to signal he was unarmed. Things were defiantly not going well; Alec pulled out his gun and felt Simon stiffen next to him. The moment Jace turned to face away the men began to charge, to make things worse they did appeared to be armed. A shot went off, the first of what would likely be many and somewhere behind their semi hidden group, the wall crumbled, dust falling. In reaction Simon ducked, covered his head and moved out of eyesight; which was exactly why he normally did not participate in these sorts of things.

"Stay here!" Isabelle squeezed Simon's shoulder and moved out into the open, running towards the next good cover point.

Alec bit his lip. "Shit, Iz . . ." He muttered under his breath, hating how impulsive she could be as he chased after her. He caught up with where she had taken cover behind a stack of cargo boxes. Jace now in hand to hand combat a ways off still, against the two front men. How he was holding them off would have been surprising to those who didn't already know him.

"Will you think for a second?" Alec snapped in a hushed tone. "We need a plan." He looked over his shoulder to where Clary was standing guard over Simon and knew she wouldn't likely be joining them or moving anytime soon.

"Like what?" His sister stared at him, a little frantic, probably worried about Jace being alone.

"Old formation, at least let me cover you!" His eyes narrowed. "Though I'd prefer you stay here and let me go . . ."

Isabelle smiled. "We both know that's not happening. You're a better shot and I'm a better fighter." She poised herself to run again, this time aiming for the next row of boxes, very close to where the brawl was taking place. The other thugs were closing in slowly from outside. "Cover me?"

Alec reluctantly smiled. "You know I will." He readied his gun, peering around the corner and watched the other's move. "Now!" The second the words left his mouth, Isabelle took off like a professional sprinter right into the action.

A couple shots went off as she ran, the other men now running into the garage entrance. Alec took aim and started taking them down one by one. Being him though, he tended to aim for the non vitals, not wanting to be the actual cause of death, no matter how wrong they may be. With each shot he took, a member from the opposing gang took a knee or fell in some painful fashion. He was good, it was undeniable. Isabelle reached the boxes she had been running for and Alec allowed himself to sigh with relief.

They were at the clear advantage now; five of the other's were on the ground due to Alec's impeccable aim. Only one, a woman, was still advancing but she appeared to be without a weapon. Then there were the two engaged in hand to hand combat with Jace and soon to be Isabelle. Alec moved from where he was hiding and made a dash for the closer boxes, seeking a better angle that might end the fighting. He reached them with ease now that the opposing gunfire was at a halt, seeing Isabelle in his peripheral vision, trying to gage her way into the fight.

From his new spot Alec took aim and brought down the last woman, hitting her foot which caused an earsplitting scream to echo through the place. If he felt any guilt it wasn't long lived. Turning to Isabelle and Jace he watched with a keen eye, waiting for an opening. He couldn't take a shot with the two so close, he would have to wait. Isabelle had jumped in at some point, drawing the attention of the red flannel man away from Jace and she wielded a rather large pipe she found, expertly.

They were winning; Jace and Isabelle now dividing the labor were individually overpowering their opponents. It looked impossible, physically speaking, but the men were slow and both of them were fast. Jace was a few good hits away from knocking the one man out and Isabelle was dodging the other, smacking him with the heavy metal in every break she received. It was starting to look like they would not need Alec after all.

_Bang_

Gun fire? Where had that come from? Alec looked around, searching for the source of that stray, unexpected noise. His eyes narrowing when he spotted one of the men he had gunned down earlier. The man was struggling in a sitting position, shakily holding his gun. Wasting no time, Alec took aim and fired, this time hitting the man in the head. No second chances.

"Alec!" Jace's voice bringing his focus back to the other confrontation; both large men were now bloody figures on the ground. But there was also a third figure, oh God.

Alec ran, faster than he had ever run before, right to the blond and his sister whose body was on the ground, her head now supported by Jace.

Isabelle coughed and took a struggled breath, blood splattering slightly as she tried to talk. "Alec." Almost too quiet to hear, but Alec could read her lips. He looked her body over, the shot had gone through her chest, into her lung, and she was undoubtedly bleeding internally. For the second time, Alec had failed them.

"Shh. . ." Alec gently took Jace's place, cradling his sister. "Don't try to talk. It'll be okay." His eyes watered and shoulder's slouched. Jace began walking away, towards the remaining gang members, leaving them to their privacy.

"A . . ." She tried again but nothing came, she struggled in another breath and Alec cringed at the way only one side of her chest inflated at all. He couldn't do this again, gods he could not do this again. Last time it had nearly killed him, this time it would.

"I know Iz. . ." He whispered, running his fingers through her hair, trying his best not to fall to pieces. "I'm so sorry, I failed you, I failed, you – because I didn't take the kill shot – because I'm a coward – I – I love you, I'm so sorry." He ducked, trying to hide his tears, but Isabelle looked up at him, wide eyed. He knew that if she could speak, she would re-assure him that it was not his fault. But it was, everything was, it was entirely his fault and he knew it. He wanted to give her piece of mind though. "I know you don't blame me." Her eyes calmed a little, he knew her so well. "I'll never stop loving you okay?" He hugged her limp figure, the scene before him bringing about all too familiar feelings.

Isabelle's eyes began to flutter, she was losing lots of blood, too much blood, and she was losing it fast. It stained her clothing and pooled beneath her. The colour in her cheeks was becoming unnaturally pale and she looked tired, almost peaceful. If Alec could be thankful for anything, it was that she did not appear to be in too much pain, though with each breath she shook. She was trying to fight it; each time her eyes began to close she forced them open.

"It's okay." He tried to sooth her. "If you're tired, it's okay." He choked a little on his next words; "You're going to be with Max. Mom and Dad too, you'll be with them, it's okay." He didn't know who he was trying to convince more, her or himself.

Her eyes slipped shut and they just stayed that way for an unmeasured amount of time. Her chest slowly rose less and less as time passed and the heat left her body. After everything stilled Alec couldn't bring himself to move. The world was muted to him, as though he were under water. He couldn't leave her, not yet, logically he knew she was gone, he knew what he had done and he knew that their other companions were watching from some distance. But he could not move, he could not see or hear. Nothing mattered now, nothing.

There was a hand over his, pulling it from where it rested over Isabelle's lifeless body. While it did not draw him back into reality, he did look up and he was met with sad brown eyes; Simon. Without a word Alec got to his feet, not saying anything to the rest of them and he walked back into the distant darkness of the warehouse.

He didn't know where he was walking; he was just headed aimlessly towards the back of the place. He wound up in front of the office door, it should be empty now, and he could be alone.

The door made an unpleasant noise as Alec pushed his way into the lit room. His suspicions had been correct, Magnus was no where in sight and the leftover rope was loose on the ground, he must have found a way to untie himself. At least that would be one death Alec wouldn't need to worry about being responsible for, the other was free and probably long gone now. Once the door was shut entirely he doubled over, clutching his stomach, his knees going weak as he fell to the floor. Cycles of negative thought looping in his head causing him to hyperventilate as he openly cried. The ground was both cold and dirty but Alec did not care, he did not care about anything at the moment. He couldn't get the image of Isabelle from his mind, her pale death face. And when he fought his thoughts elsewhere they would stray to Max, this was it, and he was the only Lightwood left.

His shoulder was warm, it was a sudden and unexpected heat, but in the state Alec was in it took him much longer than it would have otherwise to look up for the source.

"M - agnus?" The tall man was hovering behind him, holding his shoulder as he cried. Suddenly very aware of what he was doing Alec tried to sit upright, rubbing his face with his arm. He couldn't stop the tears though; trying otherwise would be an effort in futility. "Why are you still here?" His voice croaked.

Taking a knee, Magnus moved to look Alec in the eyes and removed his hand from his shoulder, their faces only a foot from each other, he said nothing.

"I thought you would have left . . ." Alec bit the inside of his cheek to stop a loud sob.

Magnus raised his hand, as if he wanted to physically comfort him but then dropped it. "I did leave."

"Then why are you back?" There was no emotion left in his tone, his brain was at a disconnect from his body, which was still crying.

Magnus let out a sigh. "I – I saw what happened. I was trying to sneak past you all in the commotion and I saw."

"That doesn't explain why you're here." It physically hurt, his body hurt. But Magnus was distracting, and Alec figured distracting was probably good at the moment, lest his attention wander to the weapon at his disposal.

Magnus looked thoughtful; "I don't know myself. I saw what happened and just felt the need to be with you, I tried to ignore it but I just wound up back here. . ."

Great, and now if things went badly, Alec would be indirectly responsible for Magnus's death as well. It seemed to be all he was good for; getting people killed. "You shouldn't have come back." Alec locked eyes with the other. "You know you're not safe here." He was struggling with whether he was secretly appreciative for Magnus's presence or if he did want to be alone. Of course, there was no telling what either of those would bring at the moment, what with the thoughts he was having.

"Honestly, I'm a little scared for you." Magnus sat back, crossing his legs. "Worried you might do something stupid, I saw the look on your face – "

"Why do you care?!" Alec yelled at him not caring if the other's heard. Magnus had known exactly what he was thinking. "What is it to you, you hardly know me." Alec began sobbing again. "My parents, my brother, my sister. . ." He trailed off.

"You're not alone. You have friends and people who care. You shouldn't think you're alone." Magnus struggled with his posturing again. "I care because the world can't afford to lose someone as pure hearted as you, it can't. This is a place filled with hate, but you still love. I know it hurts, but you can't really want to – "

"Do not tell me what I do and do not want." Alec cut him off, making sure to speak evenly. "You do not know me, do not know how I've failed, or how I've hurt. You can not tell me that I should want to live, because I do not." There, the elephant in the room, right out in the open.

Flinching at Alec's words Magnus squeezed his eyes and tried to even his own breath. "You can't mean it."

"I do."

Alec had not noticed when he stopped crying. A numbness set in, like this was not real. So this is what emptiness felt like, it was hard even to be lost in the captivating stranger who was acting like he knew him, he didn't know shit.

"You do." Magnus repeated, more to himself than to Alec.

Alec's body ached, he leaned forward, curling into himself and while the tears did not come again he felt as though his skin was on fire and began struggling to breathe again. Like emotion was trying to escape through his pores and failing. It hurt, his heart hurt, everything hurt. When he finally took a large inhale, he noticed how violently he was shaking, he was sure he looked crazed but he didn't glance up to gage Magnus.

Constricted; suddenly he felt a tightness, but instead of frightening him, it made him feel safe. Opening his ocean eyes, Alec saw something he couldn't not quite explain. Magnus was hugging him, more accurately he was holding him tightly to his chest. It felt better though and Alec didn't want to question it, he gripped the material of Magnus's muscle shirt and pulled closer, still shaking slightly but it was slowing. Magnus smelt of sweat, but Alec didn't care, it was closeness his body craved and now he could think of nothing else. His attention grasping for anything less painful than his siblings and Magnus's warmth filling the void. The taller had apparently let go of his reluctance to touch him, which at least was helpful. When Alec finally raised his gaze to properly see the other, Magnus sat back slightly and tentatively brushed his knuckles Alec's cheek.

They sat like that for a while, staring into each other eyes, not really searching but just looking. Alec couldn't make heads of tails of his feelings anymore, the ground had fallen from beneath him and here Magnus was, holding him in place. A residual sob worked it way out of the back of Alec's throat, to which Magnus's eyes narrowed, now studying. After a few more seconds of his intense gaze, Magnus moved in, Alec felt the other's heat against his lips.

Kissing, they were kissing. Alec was momentarily overwhelmed, his brain working over time trying to catch up to this twist of events. Slowly he returned the kiss though, liking the softness of the other's mouth against his. When Magnus noticed his responsiveness, the kiss picked up pace and roughness, intensifying. Like someone deprived of food being allowed to eat for the first time in weeks. Though that likely was the case, much like Alec, Magnus had probably not been in this sort of situation with anyone for a long time.

If there was anything blatantly inappropriate about this course of action taking place directly after his sister's death, Alec couldn't make himself care, he was broken. He couldn't really do much of anything really, other than give over to his baser instincts, which only wanted more.

It started as a nip, just a light bite on Magnus's lower lip, but then so much more. Magnus took control, pushing the smaller man until his back hit the wall and they sat tangled together, tongues exploring and teeth grazing. One of Alec's wrists was pinned to the wall behind him but the other found its way into Magnus's unbelievably soft hair. Magnus was pushing against him in a rather rough manner, in any other situation he might have needed to tell him to back off or calm down, but this was right and this was the welcome distraction he needed.

The cool wall behind them was slowly heating to the touch where Alec was pinned, becoming less uncomfortable and cold as Magnus began pulling at the bottom of Alec's sweater. They locked eyes again and Magnus need only say one word. "Off" It was husky and commanding. The sound made Alec shiver.

Pulling the sweater up over his head, Alec threw it a ways away from them and watched as Magnus began stripping his own top layers. First the leather jacket, and God, he had nice arms. Alec had not seen them before but they were perfectly defined, strong. Then came off the tight undershirt which left little to the imagination in the first place. Without any pause, Magnus was back on him, biting along his collar bone, licking and marking him. Hand rubbing everywhere along Alec's pale torso, Magnus caressed the skin beneath it before gripping it, kneading. Alec's own hands traveled up and down Magnus's upper arms, watching as the other bit and sucked his skin with a surprising desperation and a sense of urgency.

The cement wall scratched against Alec's back as Magnus pushed up against him, scraping against his bare skin and still the other shoved him back harder, grinding against him with one knee bent between his legs. The skin must have been rubbing raw but neither slowed, locked in an alternative reality which consisted of only their bodies and intense sweltering heat that formed between them as they moved.

Magnus bit hard against Alec's neck, bringing a cry from the other's lips. His hands fumbling with the button and zipper of Alec's pants, tugging them with little care for the straining member underneath, yanking the fabric roughly down and freeing him. Alec kicked the pants down further, letting them fall to the floor forgotten and arching up to grind against Magnus, now bare. Something that sounded like a growl came from Magnus's throat as he came back down fast against Alec's lips, sucking in the slighter man's bottom lip and nibbling at it, hips rolling down against him as the fell into a horizontal tangle.

Alec was more than willing to be dominated, Magnus trapped him to the ground, relentless in his mission to mark every inch of his upper body. Erection at full glory though, Alec was becoming impatient. Whining, he tried to pull his arms from their pinned position above his head but failed. Magnus under stood well enough so he crossed Alec's wrists, using only one hand to hold them he reached the other down to work his own pants off a ways, his own impressive length springing free. Lowering his body, he rocked his hips against Alec, moaning at the friction as the slighter bent into him.

Alec was losing it, he wanted to feel Magnus everywhere and he wanted it now, but the other seemed to have torturous prolonging ideas. The tanned man pulled away, reaching away for something and letting Alec's wrists go for a moment but when he came back he was holding the leftover rope from his captivity. Alec felt his eyes widen as he realized the implication, then an intense anticipation set in as Magnus came back down on him, yanking his wrists back into position and making quick work of tying them. With Magnus's hands now free to do other things, his nails raked down Alec's chest, leaving faint red lines before reaching beneath him and pulling him upwards roughly, greedily gripping his pale ass, yanking him forward by the bottoms of this milky thighs.

Not a word was spoken between the two of them; somehow speaking now would feel horribly out of place. But they shared a gaze, a knowing one that spoke volumes about longing and lust. Everything about this had been raw and filled with pleasurable pain, this would be no different. The numbness Alec was experiencing made each moment of sensation desirable. Tomorrow maybe he would feel the full consequence of his carelessness but right in the moment, he could not care less.

Magnus stroked him a few times, slowly, and then rubbed the palm of his hand over Alec's tip, placing pressure then to the whole of his shaft. In response Alec bucked and Magnus could not stop himself any longer, he lined up his own throbbing erection with Alec's entrance and pushed his way in at quick slide, sucking in a pained breath at the discomfort he was obviously feeling. There had been no preparation, no stretching and no lubricant. It hurt, there was no way around that but both men were so caught up and lost in their physical desire to meld.

Alec stirred uncomfortably beneath Magnus, whimpering involuntarily but willing himself to calm. This is what he had wanted, this fullness, the pain was what kept him present. He thrust his hips upward to take more of Magnus in and Alec's whimpering turned to a moan. The man above him, though he had entered roughly was waiting. Magnus sat still, visually taking in the sight before him and allowing Alec to adjust, whether the pale man seemed to want to or not.

It was not his first time. Alec knew he was likely torn a bit, bleeding, but he didn't care. He wanted Magnus to move but he wasn't, the tall man was busy being courteous, if only he knew how little it mattered, how much Alec wanted him to wreck him. Trying again, Alec bucked upward, pushing Magnus's length deeper inside then falling to feel it drag against his hole with a burning pain. He fought the rope that held his wrists, rubbing the skin there raw like the rest of him. He liked the constricted feeling, the loss of control, but all he wanted now was Magnus everywhere, to touch him and be touched by him. His beautiful distraction.

Magnus shot him a concerned look but seemed to shake the apprehension off, leaning back in and giving an experimental long thrust, pushing Alec back down. Alec's blue eyes shot open, his lips parted, gasping, and his body screaming with mixed feelings better to not to be analyzed.

Claiming his lips once more, Magnus began thrusting against the smaller man. Only the sound of skin hitting skin and their shared moans filled the room. The air stale, the colour pallet grey and the illumination was fluorescent business lighting, but none of that mattered. They were living in their own world, feeling only each other's heat, Alec basking in the green and gold animalistic look Magnus fixated on him, and Magnus sucked deeply into the blues, infinite as the night sky that begged him to stay like this forever. Their scents mixed between them, it was a raw, musky and reeked of sex.

Magnus found a steady pace, thrusting into Alec rhythmically at a comfortably quick pace. Alec, having adjusted now was a mass of whimpers and moans beneath him, his hands still bound and cradled against the dip in his pale chest. Puling at his waist, Magnus brought them together over and over, and then rested a hand over Alec's upper abdomen, feeling the tensed muscle and applying pressure, balancing himself better.

Alec pulled against his wrist bindings hard, biting his own lip to keep from crying out as Magnus propped him up a bit, finding a better angle. Pushing his heels into the back of Magnus's thighs, Alec pulled him in closer, relishing in the feel of his silky skin dragging back and forth against his own body.

"Fuck . . ." Magnus said through gritted teeth, gripping Alec's shoulder hard and pulling back against him for a final hard thrust before pulling out. Just as Alec began to whimper, clearly not finished, Magnus continued. "Roll over." There was a flame burning behind his eyes.

Alec rolled over, happy to oblige, kneeling and spreading his own legs, ass poised in the air and the dip in his back making Magnus involuntarily lick his lips. Before a heart beat Magnus was back on him, squeezing his hips, pulling back forcefully. Alec tried to look back over his shoulder, tried to sit up further, but Magnus's large hand made its way into the back of Alec's raven hair, making a fist and pushing him back forward. Picking up speed, Magnus leaned forward to trail kisses across Alec's shoulder blade, sending additional shivers through the smaller man's body. Neither would last much longer and both knew it. Magnus reached around, finding Alec's hardened member and began pumping it in time with his own thrusts, using his other hand to pull Alec's head back for another shared kiss, biting and tugging the smaller man's lip once more, forcing his tongue into his mouth and feeling the vibrations of their shared moans.

Alec felt his release coming, he pushing back against Magnus trying to make every last thrust count, until the familiar tightening in his stomach alerted him to the end. "Magnus I'm . . .ah!" Alec's seed began spilling on the floor beneath him, coming over Magnus's hand, his warning a bit late. Not a moment later he felt Magnus spasm, and then a warm sensation spread further within him as Magnus found his own release. They rode out their respective orgasms still connected, slowly working each other until there was nothing left.

Magnus pulled out of him, the loss feeling cold somehow and Alec desired contact once more. Luckily he didn't need to ask, Magnus sprawled across the cold floor, bunching their discarded clothing under his head and pulled Alec down to him. After untying the rope he wrapped his arms around Alec, holding him, not speaking. Though the ground was dirty and cold, on top of Magnus it did not seem so bad. Alec was so focused on this strange moment and all that lead up to it, not daring to let his thoughts wander any further back than that first kiss. Magnus was being quiet, and his body was tense, but Alec didn't see any reason to pry into the reasoning at that moment, sleep threatening to claim him at any time now.

Curling into Magnus more, Alec nuzzled against the warm man, his eyes heavy and nearly closed. He was almost unconscious when he heard something, a whisper that sounded like the word "Sorry" but he soon after drifted into a surprisingly peaceful sleep on top of the former stranger.

**The Truth**

* * *

When Alec awoke he felt a sting, everything hurt. Sitting, he scratched the back of his head, not yet opening his eyes. His body felt raw, sore, impossibly so and it took a few moments for the memories to rush back to him. His eyes shot open and he looked around, Magnus was nowhere in sight, the rope lying on the floor a few feet away from where they had slept. He reached down, knowing that he had been lying on something soft and felt Magnus's leather jacket bunched where his head had been.

So he was gone, Magnus left him. Once upon a time Alec would have cried but frankly he was out of tears for a lifetime. Magnus had been what he needed yesterday, who knew what today would bring but the gift of today was enough. Pulling the jacket up and over his bare shoulders he saw a piece of paper fall from the inside of the left pocket, it was folded carefully and looked worn. Slowly he began unfolding it, seeing a message written in delicate script over the back of what appeared to be a print advertisement, he didn't really look at it. He spread it, looking at the back. The message was clearly new and it read; " _You will never know how sorry I am, my flower_."

Alec didn't understand, sure Magnus had been rough, but that had been the situation and Alec did not regret that. He looked at the message again, puzzled but eventually turned it over to see whatever was on the other side properly. His heart skipped a beat when he saw a very familiar set of exotic eyes looking back at him. The face was a bit younger, his head shaved, but those were the eyes of his escape. It was a picture of Magnus on the paper. He stared at the younger Magnus for a while longer than necessary before finally registering in the words printed across it:

_Patient Zero: Magnus Bane_

_Patient Zero_

_Magnus Bane_

In that moment Alec knew two things; He was going to see his siblings again, and Magnus had been the one to grant his passage.


End file.
